PROCEEDINGS OF THE ANNUAL MEETING. 93 



THE OPENING SESSION. 



Early Wednesday evening the work of the meeting began. President. 

 Lyon called to order and requested Mr. C. W. Gakfield to preside. 

 After music, Mr. C. W. Lawton spoke the welcome of his townsmen, 

 expressing their thanks for the coming of the society, and for the antici- 

 pated benefits of the meeting, as well as their appreciation of the work the 

 society has accomplished, in its nearly a quarter of a century of active 

 existence, for the cause of Michigan horticulture. It had been suggested 

 that he was negligent of his identification with the society. If so, he had 

 certainly been derelict of duty. Years ago he had attended the meetings 

 and contributed to the programmes, but had allowed his interest to lapse 

 into " innocuous desuetude," much to his disadvantage, no doubt. He 

 spoke of the important and growing extent of Michigan horticultural 

 interests, and the fullness of their representation by the state society. It 

 was indeed pleasant to once more meet those men whose names are house- 

 hold words wherever horticulture has existence in Michigan. The advant- 

 ages of Lawton as a horticultural region were pointed out, and becoming 

 reference made to the hospitality of his townsmen and the people of the 

 surrounding country, with whom it is always pleasant to sojourn. 



Mr. Gakfield, in response, spoke of the encouragement he often 

 received, when secretary of the society, in times of depression, from the 

 Messrs. Lawton and Bitely, who are among the pioneers of pomology at 

 Lawton, and which had remained as a grateful and pleasing remembrance. 

 The society now came not to bring information, but to catch the Lawton 

 people unawares, and to learn how they have accomplished their wonder- 

 ful development, how they do the things which have made them famous. 

 *' It will do us a lot of good and we in turn can tell it to others. It is the 

 strength we will get here that will help us do good work. The standing 

 of the Michigan State Horticultural society and its literature is very high, 

 and have come to a world-wide fame; but that literature is only the records 

 of meetings like this. May it be that when the secretary has put on record 

 the results of this convention, it shall indeed be a red-letter record." 



Mr. K. M. Kellogg of Ionia said he had come to Lawton to make 

 money — to learn how to conduct his business. He declared himself proud 

 of Michigan and her horticulture, and said that, great as had been the 

 loss of prestige at Chicago, from the failure of the exhibit at the World's 

 Fair, yet the good fame of the state is impressed on the people everywhere; 

 and for all the bad results referred to, it is well known that we do produce 

 the best fruits obtainable, of their kind, and that the state is filled with 

 the grandest and best people. 



